The Flaw in the Best Laid Plan
by Ludo13
Summary: "Alice, what do you mean when you say I'm already married?" "I meant just that, Edward. You can't get married because you're married and since 1926. But it all doesn't make sense." "Then, apart from the fact that I've been married without my knowledge, what else doesn't make sense?" "Your wife was born in 1979." "What the f…?" "That's exactly what I thought when I read that line."
1. Hearing The News

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the intellectual property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of Stephenie Meyer and JK Rowling. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Beta'd by **Fmfg** and **Thir13enth** of the **Project Team Beta**.

* * *

**Hearing the News**

He could not have heard his sister right. It was ridiculous to believe he'd heard those words coming from Alice's mouth. He turned his eyes to his family who were watching him in various states of shock. It was as though he'd grown a second head or something of the sort. "Even though I couldn't believe it, there was no way Alice could be wrong," he thought to himself. The super-hearing and all that jazz meant that the vampires would forever have the advantage of hearing very low noises even whispers being exchanged at a long distance. Maybe, he'd simply misheard Alice.

"I am sorry, Alice, but can you repeat what you've just said? I think I might have heard you say something else," Edward said tentatively hoping somewhat futilely, and he knew it already, that he'd been mistaken and that Alice meant something else.

Alice gave him a long look as though she understood what he was trying to do. He already read the words forming in her mind before she repeated those aloud again and deliberately pronounced each word to him. "I. Said. You. Are. Already. Married. Edward!"

This was even worse than his worst fears. "Alice, what do you mean when you say that I'm already married?" he again asked.

"Are you really being dense on purpose, Edward?" Alice exclaimed. "I meant just that, Edward. You can't get married to Bella Swan because you're already married to a Hermione Jean Granger or Cullen if you want this to be precise and official."

"Alice," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "There must be a mistake because I've never heard of this girl ever before."

"Well, I thought that there might be actually because the marriage certificate I've found states that you got married on the twenty-first of December of 1926 in London but from what I was able to find on this Hermione Granger, it all doesn't make sense," Alice remarked with a frown.

"I could have told you that, Alice. I am not married and have never been married before," Edward said with frustration evident in his tone of voice as well as an unhealthy dose of sarcasm.

"That's not it, Edward," Alice responded. "And, don't you take that tone with me."

"Then, apart from the fact that I've been married without my knowledge, what else doesn't make sense to you, the immensely talented, Alice Cullen?" Edward sarcastically added. He could not help himself because it just did not make sense.

"Your wife was apparently born in 1979," Alice simply shared.

"What the fuck?" Edward replied, ignoring Esme's automatic chastising.

"That's exactly what I thought when I read that line," Alice remarked. "The information I've gathered from your wedding certificate says that you were married on the twenty-first of December of 1926 and that your wife, Hermione Granger, was born on the nineteenth September of 1979." Alice declared.

"Are you even listening to yourself, Alice? That is plainly impossible!" Edward retorted.

"I know this is impossible for vampires," Emmett began cautiously while looking at Alice, "but have you been smoking pot, Alice?"

"It is not the time for your remarks, Emmett!" Carlisle intervened before Alice and Emmett embarked on a bickering war. "Let's try to make sense of this current nonsense." He turned sharply to Alice before the pixie-like vampire argued.

"Can all this drivel really have a meaning at all?"" Edward questioned. "Let's see if I've got everything right? I was born in 1901, died in 1918, and got myself married to a complete stranger—who was born in 1979—in 1926. Did I miss anything?" Edward queried as he looked at Alice.

"Well, when you put it like that, it really doesn't make any sense!" Alice agreed.

Edward snorted in response. "That's the understatement of the century!"

"Let's just think about this clearly first and we'll get to that later. Are you okay with this option?" Carlisle asked.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Emmett exclaimed. Once everyone had turned to him, he looked to Alice before saying, "So, Alice, you're just telling us that our dear brother Edward." He smirked in Edward's direction before continuing, "has been married for over eighty years and we did not know any of this before?"

"Well, yes, Emmett that is exactly what I've been trying to make our thick-headed brother understand for the last few hours," Alice snipped in frustration at being interrupted again.

"Wow, this must be a record! You've been married for eighty years and you're still a virgin!" Emmett proclaimed with a wild grin before he let out a booming laugh.

"Let us get back to the subject in question," Jasper interjected wisely diffusing a calming atmosphere in the otherwise tense living room of the Cullen household.

"Yes, Jasper is right," Carlisle added. "So, Alice? Can you tell us how you made this discovery about Edward's past?" the blond vampire asked.

"Well, ever since I saw in my visions that Bella would one day be one of us, I have been making plans on the wedding that I knew would be happening soon," Alice informed us. "I was thinking about the cottage that Esme has been designing for Bella and Edward's use after their wedding and that's when I had a vision of us having this conversation."

"You mean to say that you did not see more of that girl that's supposed to be Edward's wife?" Carlisle questioned.

"No," Alice answered truthfully, her distress evident in her tone. "I only saw us discussing this with Edward."

Edward was able to see the vision of the same discussion in Alice's mind unfold just as it occurred a few minutes prior.

"But you also said that you were able to get your hands on his wedding certificate and information on the Hermione Granger in question," Jasper reminded.

"Yes, I did. After I had the vision of this confrontation with you, Edward, I went about in search of more information on what I've seen and heard from the vision, and that is how I found this." Alice produced an official document from a manila folder that she left on the table. "It's all in there as you can see," she handed Edward the document.

Edward read the document still in disbelief of everything he'd heard and seen since the beginning of this apparent farce. However, as his eyes scanned the aged and yellowed authentic document, he wasn't able to find anything to challenge his pixie vampire sister. The veracity of everything stood out on the document in his hand.

_1926 – Marriage solemnized at the Register Office in the district of Oxford in the country of Oxfordshire_

_No. – 7_

_When Married. – December 21, 1926_

_Name and Surname. – Edward Anthony Masen, Jr. and Hermione Jean Granger_

_Age. – 25 and 27_

_Condition. – Bachelor and Spinster_

_Rank or Profession. – Engineer and Doctor_

_Residence at the time of Marriage. – Chicago, Illinois, United States of America and London, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland_

_Father's Name and Surname – Edward Masen, Sr. and Richard Granger_

_Rank or Profession of Father. – Lawyer and Doctor_

"This can't be real," Edward refuted the evidence that lay there on the paper in his hand. There was even his name and signature along those of his 'wife' at the bottom of the certificate with the names of witnesses of the wedding, names he'd never known or seen before.

"It is very much real, Edward. It is also official. I checked it with the Register Office in the UK and they confirmed that it was an authentic document. There's no forgery whatsoever involved in this document." Alice informed. "In addition, it is your signature down there, isn't it?" Alice added.

"Yes, it is. Nevertheless, Alice, don't you think I'd be the first to know whether I would have signed such a document in the past. I wasn't even in London that year. This is crazy." Edward argued.

"Yet, whatever your point may be, this document still is authentic," Alice confirmed tapping the document in Edward's hands.

He spotted a flaw in the certificate in his hand and announced triumphantly, "Alice, officially I'm Edward Cullen and this document was delivered with the name Edward Anthony Masen, Jr., who has officially died. This doesn't apply to me!" He could not help but grin at his victory but his smile faded when he saw the glum look on Alice's usually cheery face.

"I already thought of that, Edward." Alice informed him. "But even when I thought of that, the vision of your wedding to Hermione Granger did not change and I don't understand why."

"Well, that's easy to answer," Rosalie quipped.

"Yeah, and why is it, Rosie?" Emmett asked.

"Because whether it is with the name Edward Anthony Masen, Jr. or Edward Cullen, the person wedded is still the same and it is you, Edward. It's all for the solemnity of the act," Rosalie said.

"But it is still a wedding held in 1926 and I'm pretty sure that the phrasing 'Til' Death do us part' in the vows does not apply to me," Edward replied.

"And that is where you are wrong, Edward," Jasper informed him as his blond brother examined the certificate that he'd picked up on the table.

"Yeah and how do you figure that one out, Jasper?" Edward questioned the logic of his empath brother.

"Because I believe magic is involved in this certificate and if my suspicions are correct, you are very much married to the Hermione Granger, here. Either it will only be when she dies or that you are executed that this certificate will be terminated," Jasper told them as he passed the certificate to Carlisle.

"Why do you believe that magic is involved in this?" Carlisle asked surprised. With his long existence as a vampire, Carlisle of course knew of the hidden world of wizards and witches but he'd never actually met one.

He might be wrong but if what Jasper was suggesting was true, Edward was afraid that his name had been used in a magically binding contract and he was currently married to a witch. "Why is life never simple?" Edward asked no one in particular followed by a loud sigh.

"That because it isn't, Edward," Carlisle answered as he also read the certificate.

"Anyway, to answer Edward's question, it is simple to check if this…" Jasper said as he pointed to the document in Carlisle's hand, "… is a magical contract."

"How do you do it, Jazz?" Emmett asked.

"Try as we might, in every way possible, we will never be able to destroy it," Jasper replied.

They did try and true to Jasper's words, the wedding certificate was indestructible. They tried tearing it apart, cutting it, burning it, and all other creative ways that they imagined. The document was still as pristine as ever.

"Okay, now we at least know something else about your situation. We can establish without any reasonable doubt that you are married to a witch; a powerful witch, who can apparently time-travel," Carlisle concluded genuinely puzzled and yet, very curious.

"But why go all the way to 1926 to get married to someone who was already dead? I don't know for sure but I do believe that necrophilia had never been allowed in history." Edward asked.

"That's easy, Edward," Alice said, "because, technically, at that time, in 1926, you had not yet been pronounced dead. You must remember that your body was never found since Carlisle took you away from the makeshift hospital where he found you in 1918. Even though, people knew that you were infected with the Spanish Flu, you were probably placed on the missing list. Thus, you would have only been officially been pronounced dead by 1927 and that may be how, your name was chosen. You disappeared on the nineteenth of September of 1918 and Hermione Granger was born on the same day but in 1979. That might be the link that has had her interest herself in your story."

"As crazy as this is, it oddly makes sense. However, I still don't understand why then would this Hermione Granger go back in the past to 1926. What's so special about that year?" Carlisle questioned.

"I think I know the answer to that but I still wonder why she did that actually." Alice said.

"Well, don't keep us waiting Alice. We are waiting for the next episode of Edward's chaotic love life." Emmett asked.

Alice smiled before answering. "As you've seen on the certificate, Edward and Hermione Granger were married on the twenty-first of December of 1926." The whole family nodded at that. They had already established that it was very real.

"On the third of January of 1927, the new Hermione Masen went to Wool's Orphanage in London and adopted a baby that was born on New Year's Eve. Edward and Hermione Masen are the proud parents of a Tom Marvolo Riddle, or Masen if you prefer, who was born on the thirty-first of 1926." Alice produced another document from the manila folder and thrust it into Edward's hands. "Congratulations, Edward. You are now the proud father of a young baby boy."

"A baby?" Rosalie and Esme asked at the same time. They rushed to Edward's side and read over his shoulders the adoption papers. His signature stood proudly next to his now confirmed wife, Hermione.

"This is crazy!" Edward announced as he dropped the papers, which were easily caught by Rosalie. "This is just crazy."

"Yet, I think it is only the beginning. You want to know something even crazier than what we've seen and read today," Emmett asked.

"Please, do tell. I'll go see if I can't go hang myself somewhere after that." Edward proclaimed solemnly.

"Edward! This is no laughing matter!" Esme chastised.

"Yet, why do things like these only happen to me?" He answered.

"Bad karma, maybe?" Jasper supplied with a smirk.

"Never mind that now. Do you want to know what is crazier or not?" Emmett said as he stared out the window that overlooked the backyard of the Cullen House.

He raised an eyebrow in Emmett's direction indicating the later that he was giving him his full attention, the large vampire only grinned at him. "You know that cozy little cottage that Esme has been planning for Bella and you?" Edward nodded in answer to his brother's odd question. He'd seen the very detailed blueprints already. "Well, it is currently standing behind the house fully built."

He rushed to the window to see this new undesired episode of his 'marvelous and amazing' married life. As incredible as it sounded, it was true. He'd seen the blueprints of the cottage when Esme had been drawing them and it was even more beautiful in real. Esme had outdone herself again.

The cottage stood out proudly in their backyard surrounded on three sides by the thick forest. A cobblestone path led from the main house to the cottage. It had an inclined tiled roof with white-painted wooden windows and doors. It was very homely with something like an English garden that stood in front of the entry porch.

As the family was gazing at the mysterious apparition of a fully built cottage in their backyard, as well as the carefully laid cobblestoned path that connected the cottage to the main house, a light flickered on in one of the upper rooms. They all watched as a shadow passed in front of the window.

"This is it, Tom. This is your new house." They heard a cultured female voice with a thick British accent say.

"It's her!" Emmett exclaimed.

"Yeah and how do you figure that out?" Rosalie remarked.

"Edward, you need to go meet her." Alice said.

"You know, I already thought of that. But, how will I start the conversation?" Edward asked.

"Just talk, it will be a start." Esme supplied.

"Yeah! Do you think that something like 'Hello Hermione, I'm Edward. Your husband' will do the trick? I don't think that's enough after everything we've discovered." Edward said.

"It's a start. Now go, Edward." Alice urged.

Edward sighed but followed his family's instructions as he slowly exited his house through the back-door. He followed the cobblestone path and soon found himself standing in front of the cottage's door.

Before he pushed open the door, he was able to hear Emmett's loud thought, "You never know, Edward. You might get lucky and finally get some."

He sighed again before he opened the unlocked door and made his way silently to the upper floor. He could clearly hear shuffling feet in the furthest room and quietly made his way there. The door was slightly ajar and he was only able to see the back of the young woman, his wife. She was rocking what he knew was a baby, his newly adopted son, Tom.

As he did not want to disturb her, he silently walked away and walked back to the first door he was on this floor. As expected, it was the master bedroom. What he did not expect to find however was the large moving portrait of his 'wedding' hanging above the queen sized-bed. It was shot or painted, he did not really know, in front of Stonehenge in England.

This was strange, because as far as he knew the wedding certificate had showed that it had only been a civil wedding and there in the portrait he was embracing a young woman with honey brown curls. She had a pretty face—he'd give her that—with a small splattering of freckles on the bridge of her nose. She wore a beautiful white dress but he would be unable to describe it. He'd leave that to Alice.

However, her eyes captivated him. She had deepest chocolate brown eyes he'd ever seen and even if this was only a portrait, Edward could easily see that her eyes shone with bright intelligence and something akin to determination. He could thus conclude that Hermione, his newly found wife, was a strong, determined young woman and even though, he loathed himself to admit it, Edward still felt pride surge in him at this knowledge.

All further exploration of the house was forgotten when he heard a door closing in the corridor and the soft barefoot thud of his 'wife' walking slowly to the bedroom where he was. He sat down on the edge of the bed facing the door and waited. He heard Hermione stop in front of the door and saying softly to herself, "I'll do some damage control tomorrow and assess how much has changed in this timeline but right now, I think a good night's sleep is all I need."

The door opened and Edward first impression of Hermione was proven right. Her brown eyes shone with intelligence and her honey-brown hair fell in riotous curls around her head and on her shoulders. It was cute.

She froze when she lifted her eyes and saw him sitting there waiting for her. Her hand flew to the right pocket of her grey pants but before she found what she was looking for, Edward decided that it was as good a time to introduce himself.

"Hello Hermione, I'm Edward Cullen. Your husband." It was as lame to Edward's ears as he'd believed.

Hermione's hand stilled as she heard his words. Her head tilted to the right as she appraised him.

"I think I'm more tired that I've believed because I'm seeing things that shouldn't exist," she said in a tired voice.

"Huh, that went well!" He heard Emmett remark from the main house. His family had of course been listening in.

"Yes, it definitely went well," Edward thought as he stared at Hermione who was also staring at him in disbelief.

* * *

**Author note:**

A spin of mine of the classic time-travel plot. Originally, this was supposed to be a Cedric/Hermione piece but I've kept thinking that it could make something even more interesting and funny with an Edward/Hermione plot. I know that I'm supposed to be working on my other stories but I haven't been able to get rid of this little piece once I imagined what it would look like as a crossover.

Depending on the response, I'll be continuing this story or change it back to the original plot of a Cedric/Hermione that was planned. So, do not hesitate to give your feedback on this little piece, I'll be waiting eagerly for that. Constructive criticism is of course most welcome.

As always, thanks and take care,

**Ludo**


	2. Acquiring the Ring

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the intellectual property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of Stephenie Meyer and JK Rowling. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Beta'd by **GetDrunkOnVictory** and **Jcat5507** of the **Project Team Beta**.

* * *

**Author note: **

I am sorry for giving you false hope concerning a new update. I am aware that I can still post this on my profile but I'm using this reposting of the edited chapter to tell you what I've been up to lately.

I've been working like a mad dog right now and haven't had time to work on my fanfictions as promised. I've been taking the limited free time available to have my stories reviewed and beta'd at the **Project Team Beta**. If you're ever in need of a beta, you should go there because they are bloody awesome. I must warn you however that the betas at the Project Team Beta are brutally honest and will tell you exactly what is wrong in your story.

I've been having my first ever multi-chaptered story—A Second Chance—reviewed by this wonderful team and I've come to realise with their help that I've left so many loopholes and errors in this one. It's still a wonder that readers managed to follow my jumbled thoughts. So, for the time being, I'm going to leave the story standing as it is (only the first three chapters have been edited so far). I'll probably come back to it later (much later) but not for now.

I really I'm sorry for that but there's not much I can do or want to do rightnow to correct that. My heart's really not in it. When I had started that first story, I had the whole plotline well figured out but somehow along the way, I've lost interest in it. That was why I decided to wrap it up at the end of the twelve chapter.

Normally, that story would have been sensibly longer than that and would have included an epilogue to the story. The sequel would have picked up from there, still focussing on Cedric and Hermione as well as their children. If you are wondering if Cedric actually got his own personal little Quidditch, then it's a yes plus one extra. The names have origins in the Arthurian legends since Cedric is a misspelling of Cerdic of Wessex who is—according to legends—an ancestor of King Arthur. I've also used Greek mythology since the first mention of Hermione hails from the greek mythology and I've also used names from William Shakespeare's works as Hermione is also a central character of The Winter's Tale. The names are below:

1. Robert (Robbie) Thomas - for the actor who played Cedric  
2. Gareth - Arthurian character  
3. Gawain - Arthurian character  
4. Iseult Claire - Arthurian character  
5. Cassandra (Cassie) - a seer in Greek mythology  
6. Thalia Helen - a muse in Greek mythology  
7. William - for the Bard, William Shakespeare  
8. Edward Cedric - for the two main roles played by the actor

For the story—A Fallen Angel—I am working on refining the current plotline before I soldier on with the new chapters. For now, I'll be sending the previous chapters to be reviewed and beta'd. I understand that the wait is long but it is unfortunately a necessary evil for now.

For the story—Let the Right One In—it's the story I am the most concentrating on. It should be much longer than initially thought since I'm going to include a bit (or a lot) of drama into the story.

For the story—The Perfect Girl and the Safe Haven—the story is still going to be updated but the new chapter will have to wait a bit longer.

And for the story—The Flaw in the Best Laid Plan—I'm putting the finishing touch to the new chapter before that also is sent for reviewing. It shouldn't take long. A maximum of two weeks, maybe. Thanks in advance for your patience.

I also have some fanfiction projects waiting on the sidelines. I'll take the opportunity to advertise these.

1. Bossy Little Chit - Hermione/Cedric  
2. The Fear of the Unknown - Hermione/Cedric (sequel to A Second Chance)  
3. The Proposal - Hermione/Edward  
4. The Therapy - Hermione/Emmett (romance or friendship fic? It's still undecided)  
5. We Shall Conquer - Hermione (pairing remains to be decided between Cedric, Oliver Wood, Adrian Pucey or Marcus Flint)

Congratulations by the way to Thrae Elddim for guessing what was the reference 'We Shall Conquer'. It was the motto of the Chudley Cannons before it was changed to "Let's just cross our fingers and hope for the best." The latter is getting a large snippet for an upcoming chapter. If you haven't guessed, the story/project "We Shall Conquer" will be about Quidditch (a lot of it), Quidditch players (a good lot) and Hermione.

I'm awfully sorry for this long rambling but I felt that I should let you know that I haven't given up on my stories. I thank all of you again for your neverending patience with me.

As always, take care of yourselves and have a great day.

Love,

**Ludo**.

* * *

**Acquiring The Ring**

An innocent Muggle auction held eight months earlier was the event that set everything in motion. She had dragged a reluctant Harry, Ron was, of course, a big no-no for that kind of event, to the auction of some historic memorabilia of famous and non-famous people from the start of the twentieth century. She only intended to buy, or at least bid for, an object that would catch her fancy.

Nothing really stood out as the sale went slowly, and Harry was snoring next to her as she watched, one by one, the articles on sale finding buyers. She still hadn't found anything that really stood out to her. It was then, as she read the pamphlet detailing the items auctioned, that she found on one corner of a page, something that actually caught her eye.

It was a ring. It was nothing extravagant; it had a pear-shaped, white diamond that was laid squarely on the centre of the gold ring, flanked by smaller, round-cut diamonds. The pamphlet said it was from the Masen Estate, Chicago, 1918. There was no more available information concerning the origin of the ring, but Hermione found that the elegance of the ring had a simple charm. This was what she had wanted to find. She shouldered Harry to wake him up, and her best friend woke up with a start. She showed him the page as she eagerly awaited for the start of the auction for the ring.

"What are you going to do with Charlie Chaplin's cane, Hermione?" Harry asked her, perplexed.

"Not the cane, Harry. The ring, you dolt," she whispered, pointing at the corner of the page.

"Oh, OK. Still, what are you going to do with the Masen's ring, Hermione?" Harry reworded his question as he looked, still perplexed, at the ring on the page.

"I like it, and so, I'll be wearing it, Harry," Hermione simply told her best friend.

"Who the hell are those Masens, anyway?" Harry asked again.

"I don't know who those Masens are, but I can –"

"Still do some research about it," Harry completed. Hermione glared at the cheeky expression of her best friend. He knew her really well.

Her attention was brought back into the auction as the object of her desire was brought forward. The close-up on the large screen that stood behind the stage showed the ring in more detail. As she'd seen from the picture on the pamphlet, the ring was simple in its elegance, but the close-up of the camera also showed that there were words engraved on the inside of the ring. _Eternally yours_, it read. It was perfect.

"So, why am I here, again?" Harry asked as the auction started at five thousand pounds. "Isn't that a bit high for something so unimpressive?" Harry added as Hermione raised her pad.

"You're here because I wanted to spend some time with one of my best friends, as our clashing schedules don't allow much free time to be shared between us." It was true that Harry's work as an Auror and hers as a mind Healer took a lot of their time. "Plus, since you're here, you can participate in the auction, and if this goes too high for my budget, you'll be able to continue and buy your best friend something that she wants." Hermione added with a smile before raising her pad again.

They were already at forty thousand pounds, and Hermione was starting to feel desperate as she watched the auctioneer continue raising the price as another bidder waved his pad. It was already too much for her, but she now wanted the ring desperately. It was a matter of pride for her.

"One hundred thousand pounds," a strong voice on her left said with authority while gasps echoed round the room, hearing the new bid. Hermione turned to see that is was Harry who had made the bid but the latter was not looking at the auctioneer but he was smiling at her.

"One hundred thousand pounds?" The auctioneer, Mr. Bore, a portly bald man with a walrus moustache, asked for confirmation, to which Harry nodded.

"So, one hundred, one time." The large Mr. Bore was sweating profusely as he regarded the crowded hall waiting.

"One hundred thousand, two times." He waited again, but no bids came.

"One hundred thousand, three times." He said with finality. "And, the sale of the 'Masen Estate, Chicago, 1918' ring goes to the bidder number seventy for one hundred thousand pounds."

"Harry! You didn't have to spend so much on something so trivial for me. What is Ginny going to say?" Hermione hissed at him as they stood up and followed an attendant who led them to an office.

"Hermione, Hermione, Hermione!" Harry chastised, shaking his head as he smiled at her. "What kind of best friend would I be if I didn't buy the one thing that managed to catch said best friend's eye at this god-awful event?"

"You know I love you, right, Harry?" Hermione said as she looked at him with fondness.

"Don't let the Prophet hear you say this. Moreover, I was rather fed up with being here and wanted to tail out of here as soon as possible, and if this ring can bring about this opportunity, I thought I might as well take it. So, it's really no big deal." Harry modestly downplayed his decision as they sat and waited for the attendant to return with the ring.

"What would I do without you, Harry Potter?" Hermione asked.

"Hmm," Harry faked thought, "what would happen to Hermione Granger if she didn't have me in her life? I guess that you would have led a very boring life. With me in it, you're always one step away from trouble," Harry ominously told her. _Famous last words those were_.

Once Hermione had the ring on her hand, she was charmed by the simplicity of it. There were the words that were elegantly carved on the inside of the ring. That had not been mentioned either in the brochure nor by the auctioneer when he introduced the object for the auction. Only on the screen.

_Eternally yours._ That was what had been carved on the inside of the ring. Hermione marvelled at the simplicity and the elegance of the script. She nervously put the ring onto her ring finger, and it had fit her perfectly, as if it had been made for her.

"Can we go now?" Harry asked, breaking her from admiring the ring on her finger.

"Just a minute, Harry." Hermione said as he petulantly grumbled. "Can you tell me more on the history of this ring, please?" Hermione asked the portly Mr. Bore who'd taken a pause from the auction and had joined them in the office. The attendees had naturally rushed to the open buffet for refreshments.

"First off, I must offer my congratulations for this marvellous piece of history." He shook both Harry and her hand with his pudgy, sweaty hand. "Secondly, I'm sorry to tell you that there isn't much information that we've been able to gather concerning the origin of your beautiful purchase of today. Only, that it's from Chicago from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century and that it belonged to a family named the Masen's. That's just everything we've had."

"Great, Hermione. You have a new pet project." Harry said. "Can we go now?" He asked again.

"In a moment, Harry," she said in exasperation. Harry folded his arms and grumbled some more. "You don't have anything more?" Hermione asked the auctioneer again.

When the latter shook his head in the negative, Hermione sighed before she stood up. Seeing that, Harry cheered and followed suit quickly. He stretched languidly to rid himself of the last traces of sluggishness and watched her expectantly.

"You shouldn't go so quickly," Mr. Bore said. "We've got a few interesting objects of historical value coming up after the pause."

"We're so sorry but we've got a lot—er. We've got a lot of road ahead of us, and it's getting rather late." It was only three in the afternoon, but Harry was getting desperate. "Yeah, that's it. We better head out soon before the traffic, you know?" Harry finished in a flurry.

"It was a pleasure, Mr. Bore," Hermione said as she shook the portly man's clammy hand, barely repressing her shiver of disgust. Harry wisely just nodded at the man before opening the door and motioning Hermione to get a move on.

It was only when they were out of the auction house that Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin for that. I feared you wanted to sit back for the second session." Harry told her.

"I contemplated that option for a few seconds," Harry's eyes widened in shock, "but I reckoned I owed it to you after what you've done today for me."

"Don't mention it. It's really no big deal," Harry modestly answered. "But, if in the future, for whatever reasons you happen to have, you wish to again attend another auction, please bring Ron. I've never been this bored by anything since old Binns' classes."

"You're just being difficult, Harry. It's not as if your job as an Auror is very fulfilling right now," Hermione quipped. "I think I'm gonna tell Robards to put you on some desk job, maybe do some filling for the next few weeks," Hermione said seriously, but burst out laughing when she saw the fear in Harry's face. In a very Hermione-ish finale to the day, Hermione enveloped Harry in a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you, Harry. I love you, you know." Hermione muttered.

"It's no big deal, Hermione." Harry said awkwardly, voice muffled, as he was still held in Hermione's arms. When the latter let go, his hands automatically went through his trademark unruly hair. "We really need to head home. Ginny's been a real nightmare these last weeks." Harry shared as they made their way to a side alley.

"She's bound to be, Harry," Hermione remarked. "It's the final month of her second pregnancy. You are lucky that she can't hear you now, or you'd be hexed silly until the baby's birth."

"Don't I know that?" Harry replied knowingly. "Anyway, never mind that. Take care of yourself, Hermione." Harry said as they reached a safe spot to Apparate away.

"Will do. And thanks again Harry for coming today with me and everything." Hermione added looking at her best friend in earnest and in gratitude.

"You know you just have to ask and I'll be there," Harry said. "Anytime, Hermione." Harry added before he turned on the spot and Dissaparated with a crack.

Hermione checked one last time around before she followed suit and Dissaparated.

Just as Harry had predicted, Hermione had found a new pet project. She wanted to know the origin and history of the ring. It tore at her not knowing more on the beautiful piece of jewelry that she now wore every day. Therefore, she naturally researched all information that she'd been provided by Mr. Bore. It was not much, but she was still thrilled by the challenge that it presented.

In a move that shocked the Wizarding World, Hermione announced that she would be taking a long-deserved vacation from her top-position job as the Head Mediwizard of the Spell Damage Department. Harry, of course, knew the reason behind why she was taking a vacation, but he wisely chose not to comment. She had always hated it when she did not know anything, and she hated it even more when people chose to remind that to her. Hermione had decided that after not finding any new information on the object that had been torturing her for the past weeks, that she had to go to the source of it.

_Chicago_.

* * *

It was delightful what one was able to do with a little bit of magic. With the infinitesimal information that she had prior to going to the States, she was able to find more information on the Masens and their tragic story, in as little as a few days. Moreover, she owed the technique to Rita Skeeter for the very knowledgeable information that she had managed to gather.

Elizabeth and Edward Masen Sr. had been married in 1900, on the first of June, and almost exactly a year later, on the twentieth of June 1901, they had a son. He was named Edward Anthony Masen Jr., after his father. Edward Masen Sr. was a very successful and respected lawyer in Chicago of the early twentieth century. Despite having a successful career and living in the upscale district found near the Midway Plaisance and the University of Chicago, he was moderately rich.

Hermione was able to learn from the city's oldest resident, a super-centenarian, Mrs. Grey, who lived in the same neighbourhood as the Masens as a child, that the father was emotionally distant from his son. His wife devoted all her time to her family and provided her son with the love that her husband did not bestow upon his son.

In spite of all this, Edward Masen Sr. was very proud of his son, who, as per Mrs. Grey's memories, was a very brilliant and talented young man. As well as being extremely handsome, Edward Masen Jr. was also an accomplished pianist. Because of his father's distance, the young Edward had a somewhat rebellious streak and wanted more than anything to join the army. To the relief of his mother, he wasn't allowed to join until he turned eighteen years of age, and his mother prayed every day for the end of World War I. However, despite all the prayers that Elizabeth Masen said, the latter wasn't able to foresee the tragedy that was to befall them.

The Masens fell victims to the Spanish Flu. Edward Masen Sr. was the first to die after contracting the flu. It had been established, from various accounts of people of the time and from historic records that Hermione had gotten her hands on as well as from the personal memories of Mrs. Grey, that Elizabeth Masen had ruined her own chance of living by tending to her son with uninterrupted ferociousness. She had been deemed the less infected, but as she tired herself with looking after her son, her health drastically deteriorated, and she eventually died on a bed next to her ill son.

However, it was the ultimate fate of the Masens' son that was the saddest. The day his mother died was also the day that Edward Anthony Masen Jr. disappeared. It appeared that he had enough strength to walk away from where they had been gathered in a makeshift hospital, which was a converted high school. There was no trace of him elsewhere. Either he died somewhere on the streets and that he'd been buried in the usual mass graves that were common at the time, or he had been able to survive. Anyway, there was no trace of him left, and it happened on the nineteenth of September 1918. On Hermione's birthday.

Mrs. Grey, who was one of the lucky few who were not infected, had gone the following day to inquire on her neighbours' fate and was saddened to hear the news of Mrs. Masen's death as well as the disappearance of Edward. She was the one that made the necessary burial arrangements for the Masens and was the one to whom all the personal belongings of the Masens that were in the hospital were bequeathed to, and that included the Masens' wedding ring that was now in Hermione's possession.

A relative of the Masens inherited the old estate, and every other paraphernalia that belonged to the Masens, but Mrs. Grey had kept the ring with her. She was the one who had, after all those years, finally parted with the old ring and gave it to an auction house on the one condition that the sale would benefit some charity.

That ring was finally what had gotten Hermione in the mess where she was now. That and her obsessive perfectionism. She finally knew what had happened to Edward Anthony Masen Jr.; he really did die.

In a twisted turn of events, Edward Anthony Masen Jr. had truly died and had been turned into a vampire. She really had only Harry to thank for sharing his bad luck with her, because the said vampire was also the one to whom she was now married, thanks to the magically binding contract that she'd carefully crafted. Hermione had not truly intended to go back in time to do what she had done. Nonetheless, she did it. She had, however, not foreseen this particular flaw: that she would end up being married to the only flaw in her best laid plan.

DARN!

* * *

**Author note:**

Tadda, here is the long awaited update to this story. Unfortunately, there is no Hermione/Edward interaction in this chapter but you'll understand the origin of the story. I'm not yet going into details on how Hermione went into the past since we'll get to that later on. The next chapter's title is "Meeting the Flaw." So stay tuned as I promise some interesting Edward/Hermione time.

I wish to end this chapter by saying that the response to this new story has been overwhelming and above my highest expectations. I take the opportunity to thank everyone +that have reviewed, listed it as one of their favourites or put a story alert for it. Even if I haven't answered your (long) reviews yet, you know that they are always appreciated.

**Thanks to all reviewers:** Arianna21, Arabellagrace, Nomada, Babynora1983, Sampdoria, Ginsensu, UnattainableDarkAngel, Mh21. CosmoGirl666, Moonstone Blaze, Guest010713, Lestat's Lover, Justaislinn, Astanley1991, Amata0221, Crimsonpincess99, Lw117149, BigTimeGleekBTR, Hpobsessed, Moebop, Guest010913, xTooxLazyxToxLoginx, Ptit Con, Lauritch, Flyingberry, Vepatiinson, Dores, Cibbler, HermisLupim26, Guest011013, Amjed, IaimHigher, India And Jovica, Ines Marie Pattinson, Jeluem, LenOfMarch, Love Comes From Pain, ManuMilitari, SimUleyTe, The Crazy Wizard, The Belle Nabab, Gemini-Rose16, Bridgetlynn, Sandrine Loves Ryan Philippe, Lucky Dudette, Michelle Black a.k.a Elle, JIPEE, Uppity, Mrs. Regulus Arcturus Black, Redly24, LeonaMasha, Lixy-chan, AnimeGirl45xoxo, Vampie2emo, Annarolls, Sherychery7, Invisible-gurl, TS17isme, Mylove24, Moonprincess97524, TheMoreSmutTheBetter, Lovelyinc, MoonShadowAMR, Nathaliie, Irmorena, Black Phoenix Ranger, Thrae Elddim, Guest031513 and Angel.

As always, take care of yourselves and have a great day.

Love,

**Ludo**.


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